2. BOMBYLIUS 493 



5 (6) Numerous long black hairs standing out amongst the short 



dense tawny pubescence behind the eyes; face with con- 

 spicuous black pubescence on the sides and across under the 

 antenntB. Femora mainly black. 3 canescens. 



6 (5) Only short dense apparently shorn tawny pubescence behind 



the eyes; face without any conspicuous black pubescence. 

 Femora mainly orange. 4 minor. 



B. venosus Mikan is closely alHed to B. canescens, but has hardly any 

 black pubescence extending across the face just under the antennee, 

 and has the front part of the frons in the female almost entirely pale 

 haired; two obvious black prsesutural bristles also exist of which there 

 is no trace in B. canescens ; the upper part of the pleurse is said to have 

 several black hairs intermixed in the tawny pubescence, and it is altogether 

 a larger species than B. canescens. 



B.fulvescens Meig. is closely allied to B. minor, but has the discal cross- 

 vein before (instead of at) the middle of the discal cell, the face and 

 antennal district with black hairs, and the abdomen without the middle 

 fascia of black hairs. 



B. fwjax Wied. This and the next species differ from B. minor in 

 having the femora almost wholly black ; B. fucjax has the discal cross-vein 

 before the middle of the discal cell, and has practically no black hairs on 

 the abdomen, and is usually larger than B. minor. 



B. cinerascens Mikan is distinguished from B. fwjax by having the 

 discal cross-vein at the middle of the discal cell, by the numerous black 

 hairs about the antennal district, and by two black prassutural bristles 

 on each side of the thorax, I have a note that one or two males standing 

 under the label of B. minor in the Dale collection at Oxford have black 

 femora. 



Systoechus ctenopterus or sulphureus, or Anastcechus nitichdus, if occurring 

 in Britain may be distinguished from any Bombylius by the distinct 

 venation. 



1. B. discolor Mikan. Tawny haired, but with black hairs all about 

 the end of the abdomen. Wings dotted. Antennae with the third joint 

 linear. 



A very beautiful fly, which is easily distinguished from its 

 close allies by the abundant black hairs about the end of the 

 abdomen. 



(J . Frons triangular with a deep middle furrow, greyish brown, clotlied with long 

 dense black hairs (not quite so long as those on the vertex or those on the 

 basal antennal joint) but with a few tawny hairs intermixed on the front 

 part and with some short dej^ressed glittering yellowish hairs at the sides 

 just above the upper margin of the cheeks, where also a slightly darker 

 brown band of ground colour crosses from the antennae to the eyes ; 

 face produced (in profile) nearly as much as the length of the eyes, greyish 

 brown, clothed on the middle part -with dense reddish tawny pubescence 

 which droops at the tips of the hairs and with some black hairs intermixed 

 close around, while all the hairs on the upper part of the side-cheeks are 

 black and more erect, but the tawny hairs only die out by steadily groAving 



